The Tie That Binds
by Athena356
Summary: An interesting case comes into the ER and touches both Jing-Mei and Dave deeply...please r/r!
1. Someone To Lean On

AN/Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, not me. too bad. the *'s indicate that it's in Chinese(but i can't write in Chinese, so oh well, deal with it, hehe)Anna and her family actually belong to me. :). Alright, I've said enough....enjoy the fic!~~Thena  
  
  
"Dr. Chen, can you come to curtain 1?"  
  
"Malucci, I told you to stop dumping patients on me!" She turned away from him and began to walk towards exam 4.  
  
"No, that's not it. I need a translator."  
  
"Again? Call upstairs."  
  
"I did. The mother refuses to let a man translate for her. All the women who could translate up there are gone, Leia is on her day off and I think that other one...forgot her name..I think she moved, cuz I haven't seen her in a while..."  
  
"OK, OK, I get the point, Dave. I'll go. But for the patient, not you."  
  
"Thanks Jing-Mei."   
  
"Well? Come on, tell me about it! I'm not going in there looking like a fool!"  
  
"Seven year old girl, complains of...well, seems to have...foot pain. Anyway, her feet are covered in lacs, some infected, some new...the feet don't look right, the bones look broken, can't tell which though. We need consent for an X-ray. Stupid hospital policy."   
  
"OK, let's go." Jing-Mei entered the room and began speaking in rapid Chinese to the hovering mother. All Dave could understand was when she introduced herself as Jing-Mei Chen. She turned back to Dave. "Alright, you've got your consent."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"That all? Can I go?"  
  
"Until the films are back."   
  
"I'll be in 4 if you need me."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
****  
  
"Jing-Mei, the films are back." neither noticed the switch from Dr. Chen to Jing-Mei, and if they did they didn't comment on it.  
  
"You want me to talk to the mom?"  
  
"Actually...can you come look at these films? I've never seen an X-ray quite like this, I want to make sure it's not a mistake."  
  
"Sure, let me finish these sutures first." She finished quickly and threw away the tiny extra bits of suture string she had left over. She dumped the extra lidocane in the sink. "3 of lidocane." she noted. Disposal of drugs. It had become a big deal since the Carter thing. Always had to have a nurse or a doc around with you. Jing-Mei figured Dave would suffice.   
  
They walked out into the hall. Dave pulled the films out of the large yellow envelope and secured them to the board. He flipped on the light and Jing-Mei gasped when she saw the image of the girl's foot.  
  
"Is the other one like this too?"  
  
"Actually it's a little worse." He switched the films and showed her the other one.   
  
"Nearly every bone in her feet is damaged. Some are bruised, some have hairline fractures, and some are completely broken!"  
  
"This is almost impossible. How can you break so many bones?"  
  
"Holy sh*t...Dave, did you say she had foot lacs? how old is she again? 7?"  
  
"Yeah, exactly. Why?"  
  
"I've got to take a look at this girl's feet."  
  
"Sure,sure."   
  
Jing-Mei raced down the hall. Dave grabbed the films and ran after her, forgetting to turn off the light. He arrived at the entrance to curtain 1 and saw Jing-Mei carefully examining the young girls' feet. She was wincing more than the patient as she discovered each new lac and scar.   
  
She began speaking angrily and even faster than before to the mother. The mother seemed defensive, but said little. When Jing-Mei paused for breath, the mother began to speak, only to be interrupted by the irate Jing-Mei. Dave stepped into the room when he saw Jing-Mei's face turn bright red. She was gettng much too worked up. He put a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Dr. Chen, what is it?" he always tried to be polite to the other docs in front of patients...even those who didn't understand him. It was one of the few rules he didn't mind following.   
  
"I never thought I'd see this...never."  
  
"Jing-Mei, what is it?" he tried to be polite. Sometimes it didn't work out so well.   
  
"Footbinding." she glared at the mother.  
  
"Footb...oh! I remember learning abo...damn...wow." The sudden memory of what it was stopped Dave mid-sentence.   
  
"It's only been a few months, the damage should be reversable."  
  
"Well that's good!"  
  
"If we rebreak all the bones in this poor girl's foot and reset them. It will be painful...how could someone DO this to their child?"  
  
"You want me to make the call?"  
  
"Yeah. But call me when they get here. And don't call the orthopods, these lacs need to be sutured and bandaged first."   
  
"Sure. Good pick up, Jing-Mei."  
  
"Hey, anything for the patients. If we don't help them, who will?"  
  
"The world is not all bad, Jing-Mei."  
  
"Oh yeah? I'd like you to show me just one person....just one who..."  
  
"Isn't bad?" she nodded. "Well, you're lookin at him!" Dave flashed his famous smile.  
  
"Dave, if YOU are my source of hope for the human race, we're doomed."  
  
"Hey! Come on, really...what about you? You're not bad...you're great, in fact."  
  
"I've done more than my share of bad." She thought of Michael, her...not her...sweet little boy...she'd done enough bad.  
  
"And you've done more than your share of good. Jing-Mei, you're a doctor! You save people's lives every day."  
  
She smiled at him weakly, trying to believe him. Trying to get the baby's face out of her mind.   
  
"I'm gonna, um, suture these lacs and admit her. Can you call now?" They walked to the admin desk.   
  
"Of course." He picked up the reciever and dialed the number that he knew all to well. Satisfied, Jing-Mei left and headed to curtain 1. She sent the mother out of the room and got a suture tray from the shelf. When the young girl saw her with the needles and bandges, she bit her lower lip and tried not to cry.   
  
Jing-Mei saw her trembling with fear. *No, no. This will help your feet feel better. It won't hurt at all. I promise we're going to make you better.*  
  
The girl nodded tentatively and let Jing-Mei put the sutures in. She knew imediately from the gentle way the doctor was taking care of her that she could be trusted.   
  
Jing-Mei reached for the gauze, realizing that there were too many lacs to cover them seperately. She would have to wrap both feet entirely to prevent infection and keep the sutures clean.   
  
*I have to wrap your feet up now. Tell me if it's too tight. Stop me if I hurt you.*   
  
The child didn't make a sound as Jing-Mei carefully wrapped her feet.   
  
*Now lie down and rest, Anna. It's been a long day.* Anna nodded and Jing-Mei tucked the blankets carefully around her little body. She looked tinier than she had before lying in the huge bed. She was only seven...Jing-Mei turned and saw Dave standing in the doorway.   
  
"DCFS is on their way. And I admitted her for you. How's she doing?"  
  
"Scared, but OK. She's going to be just fine." Her eyes began to tear as she watched the sleeping child. Her tears fell onto her pale cheeks, falling onto her white lab coat. Dave reached out cautiously and put his arms around her. She cried on his shoulder, her tears soaking his tee shirt. He held her close and whispered in her ear.   
  
"It's going to be ok."   
  
****  
  
"How did it go with DCFS, Jing-Mei?"   
  
"OK, I guess. They're looking for a foster home for her. She's scared...but she knows it's best for her, I think. The prospect of living with strangers doesn't seem too thrilling to her." Jing-Mei had been translating during an interview with DCFS. "The mom's furious. She did this to her older daughter as well, but the older one moved out, to the father's house. They found out this was happening before, and they took the child out. But they forgot about Anna."   
  
"Sounds like the system we know and hate. But Jing-Mei, it's all we have. It sucks, but it's the only thing we can do. Besides, Anna's going to have to stay here, up in Ortho, for... a while. At least until they reset her foot. She can stay longer, if need be. We can arrange a long stay, and then if they don't find a family right away..."  
  
"Then she can have no one to rely on. That's just great for a kid in the hospital. Perfect situation for a scared, abused little girl."  
  
"She's got us. I don't know about you, but I'm going to visit her. Like you said, she has no one. Besides us." Jing-Mei stared at Dave, amazed by his sensitive side. She had seen him like this a few times, and only...only in cases of child abuse.   
  
"Dave, did something happen to you? As a child? I mean, whenever we have a child abuse case, you just...what's wrong?"  
  
"Now that, Jing-Mei Chen, is a question that can only be answered over dinner. What do you say?"  
  
"Do you ever stop flirting, Dave?"  
  
"Not when I like someone."   
  
"Dave..." She was going to protest, but she was too tired and emotionally drained. "Yeah...let me get my coat." He flashed her a smile as she headed into the lounge, opening her locker and staring at the picture of Michael she had taped up there. "Sorry honey...sorry I couldn't take care of you...it could be worse...right?" Trying to convince herself of that, she grabbed her coat and assured herself for the millionth time that she had done the right thing. She saw Dave, standing happily in his scrubs, not caring that it was freezing out.   
  
"Ready, Jing-Mei?"   
  
"Yeah."  
  
They smiled at each other and walked out the doors to the El, leaning on each other for support. "Thanks for helping me today."  
  
"Anytime, Dave. Thanks for..."  
  
"Anytime, Jing-Mei." They both grinned and got on the train as she slipped her hand into his, marvelling at how good it felt to have someone there for her.


	2. Making The Choice

AN:Honestly, I hadn't planned on a second part. BUT, you asked, and I live to give my readers what they want...I am an author. so enjoy it! Disclaimer still applies, unfortunaltely. not mine...sigh, but i can pretend, so off i go into the world where I control them all. ~~Thena  
  
  
"Have you been to see Anna today, Dave?"  
  
"No, but they're going to reset her bones later, I think we should be there."  
  
"Definitely. Has DCFS found a place for her yet?"   
  
He shook his head. "They're 'working on it.' Who knows."   
  
"So, do you think Weaver will let me off? I mean, with the whole Cheif thing?"  
  
"You'll be on call, and just upstairs. Festus will let you off."  
  
"Dave, she'll kill you if she hears you calling her that."  
  
"I know. That's why I don't let her hear me!" With a grin, he grabbed a chart from the desk and turned back to Jing-Mei. "See you around 3 up there?"   
  
"Wouldn't miss it. How about we meet down here. We can go up together."  
  
"Cool. Meet you by the stairs then, k?"  
  
"Sure. Later!" She smiled to herself as he walked away. He was turning out to be alright after all. She would have stood there like an idiot thinking about Dave, but Kerry walked by, right in her line of sight. "Dr. Weaver!" She turned and saw Jing-Mei.  
  
"Yes? Can this wait? I have a meeting to get to.."  
  
"No, it's quick. I just need your permission to go upstairs today, around 3. Anna's getting her feet reset, and I'd love to be there. I think she needs me there."   
  
Kerry sighed. "I'm sorry, but Malucci's already asked me to get someone to cover for him, and now that Carter's at that conference and Cleo's with Reese, I can't get anyone to cover for you. I'd love to let you go, but we're pretty busy."  
  
Jing-Mei began to protest, but Kerry held up her left hand. "I'm sorry, I just can't let you go. You have enough time to make up already." She limped off, leaving Jing-Mei with her mouth open, trying to reply. Jing-Mei turned and grabbed a chart, scribbling her initials furiously on the board. Kerry would be gone for the entire day at some meeting, and now there was no way for her to get up to see Anna. She hated to dissapoint the little girl. She'd already been dissapointed and hurt enough. Jing-Mei walked to exam 3, where Dave was waiting for a surgical consult on an appy.   
  
"Dave, I can't come today. Weaver said we were understaffed. Sorry."  
  
"But she told me...Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take the spot or anything, I didn't know."  
  
"You couldn't have. Weaver's still pissed at me because I got pregnant and missed some work...she wants me on every second to make up the time I missed anyway!"  
  
"Jing-Mei...you go. I'll cover for you. You need to be there more than I do."  
  
"Dave, I couldn't ask you to..she's your patient..."   
  
"She needs you more...she trusts you. Go. no more arguments."  
  
"Thank you... thank you so much. I'll do your scut forever..."  
  
"Hey, you'd better get off to the next patient quickly or I might take you up on that..."  
  
"Oh, look at the time, better be going to treat someone...thanks."  
  
"No prob."  
  
She walked off to treat a few patients before it was time to go. She wanted to arrive early so Anna could see her before they started.   
  
****  
  
Dave entered the room just as the orthopedist said "All done!" and Jing-Mei translated.   
  
"Sorry I missed it."  
  
"Dave! You came!"  
  
"Not soon enough..."  
  
"How did you get up here?"  
  
"My...and your...shift is over. So I figured maybe I could get up here before you were all done."  
  
"It's ok...hold on." She turned to Anna. *Get some rest, ok? We'll be back to see you tonight. I promise.* Anna nodded. "Dave, can we go talk...somewhere?"  
  
"Docs?"  
  
"Somewhere private?"  
  
"The roof it is." they headed up the stairs and sat together on the roof. "What's up, Jing-Mei?"  
  
"Thanks for everything...letting me take your break, coming up, coming to the roof..."  
  
"It's OK. I wanted to."  
  
"They can't find a family for her."  
  
"Really? I find that hard to believe...she's adorable!"  
  
"Yeah...but they need a Chinese speaking family who wants to adopt a girl. Hard to find. The Chinese are more likely to put their daughters up for adoption and get a son."  
  
"Hey, not everyone's like that!"   
  
"Yeah they are. Apparently."  
  
"OK, so what do you want to do about it? We can visit her and we can take care of her, but sooner or later they're going to find a place for her, whether it's with a family or in a group setting or whatever."  
  
"I want....I was thinking maybe...I could take her home, let her live with me for a while. Until they find someone." She looked at him and saw his confused face.   
  
"Jing-Mei.. what about, um...." He trailed off, looking into her eyes. "What about....Michael?" The words stung and she looked at him, speechless. This had all been...she stopped herself from thinking anything bad about her motives. "Look, you'd be a great mom, but you must not be ready for it. It's not a bad thing...I'm impressed that you realized it...but you did the right thing with Michael. And you have nothing to make up for...so you don't have to try."   
  
"How did you..."  
  
"I don't know...something about the way you were looking at her today. But they'll find her a good home. Don't worry."  
  
"How can I..."   
  
"Help? You've helped so much already. Look...I think you know that you can't take her in. Your hours...your life...it's just not conducive to having a baby or a young child around. She needs someone...who needs her."  
  
"I do...I think I do..."  
  
"If you need someone...really need someone...it's not her." He didn't need to say any more. She nodded weakly and took his hand. They went downstairs and she picked up the phone on the wall of an empty exam room.   
  
"Hello...Linda...yes, it's Jing-Mei...I know that I said...ummm...look, can you bring Michael over? Yeah. Don't yell at me! I need to see him. He's still my son. And I need to see him. I didn't say that! I just need to visit with him. I'm not arguing with you over this, I have a right to see him. I'm at work. Bring him over. Please." She added weakly before hanging up the phone. She practically collapsed into Dave's arms. "She yelled at me for trying to take him away from her."   
  
"It's going to be ok. He'll be here soon...if you need to see him, you need to see him. You do have a right. Just because he's been adopted doesn't mean you have to cut out all contact with him."  
  
"Dave...I think I need more than that."  
  
"You mean you want him back?" She nodded. "Well..."  
  
"I can take care of him...I always could. I just let my family influence me, and...I think I need him. I love him."  
  
"I know...I know." He held her closer and she looked up at him.   
  
"Thank you...will you come with me? To talk to them?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
****  
  
"I can't believe you're doing this to me!"  
  
"Linda, I'm sorry! Look, I never thought I'd do this, but he's my son!" Dave put a reassuring hand on Jing-Mei's shoulder. She didn't look up, but she was grateful for his support.   
  
"It was bad enough when he was a newborn, but he's been living with us for a long time now. His entire life. We love him!"   
  
"I love him too...look, I don't want this to turn into a screaming match. I need him...and I'm well within the time limit to change my mind. So either we do this nicely, or we do this the hard way. But he's my son. And I want to take care of him. I want him to come to me and call me mommy...I want him to love and trust me."  
  
"This is sick. You know this has happened to us before, but never this late. A lot of women, while they're still pregnant, they change their mind. Or when they see their baby. You almost did. But after a hard day, you just decide you need your son? Well he's as much our son by now as he is yours, and we need him too!"  
  
"Look, Linda...I know you're attached to him, and you've been taking care of him, and I thank you. But I need him back."   
  
"Attached to him? Is that what you think we are? Like you get attached to some new toy as a child, like you get attched to a possesion? NO. We love him. As our son. And that's what he is...so don't rip him away from us."  
  
"I can't....have this conversation. I won't. He's my child. And he's coming home with me. I'll call the adoption agency and make it official...but I didn't want you to hear about it in a call from them. I changed my mind...and I'm sorry to do this. But I have to. You can keep him tonight, say goodbye. I'll pick him up tomorrow."  
  
"It's my husband's birthday tomorrow. We're having the entire family over...they all wanted to see Michael. What the hell do I tell them now?"   
  
"I don't know." She looked at Linda who was clutching Michael tightly. "Can I hold him? For just a minute? I need to be going soon, and I just want to..."  
  
"Sure. What difference does it make now?" Linda's voice was flat as she handed Michael to Jing-Mei.   
  
Jing-Mei kissed Michael's forehead. "Hey Sweetie...I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sorry I left you...I'm so sorry. I love you, sweetie." She handed him back to Linda, trying not to smile too much. Tears formed in her eyes as she gave up her baby once again. _ but this time it's only for one night._ she reminded herself. Linda walked out of the lounge without a word, leaving Jing-Mei and Dave staring after her.  
  
"Hey...it's OK. I'm proud of you for trying to keep it civil at least." He tried to flash her a grin, but only a small sincere smile would appear on his face.   
  
"Well woohoo, Dave Malucci's proud of me. We can all be happy now." She also smiled.   
  
"Feel better?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Want some coffee? Something to eat...anything?"  
  
"Well...." She surprised herself by leaning over and kissing him. "Sorry..."   
  
"Don't be. It's a perfectly natural reaction to my charm. No one can resist." He was just trying to make her smile. It worked.   
  
"Sure Dave...but I could go for some coffee too. Let's go to Docs."   
  
"Sure. And we can go see Anna afterwards, if you want."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Great...Last one to Doc's buys the other one dinner?"   
  
"Shut up." She grinned and kissed him once more before they pulled on their coats and headed across the street.   
  
"Yes Ma'am!" He smiled, racing out the door of the lounge after her. When he caught up, he put his arm around her and she leaned closer to him. They stepped into Doc's, Jing-Mei walking only a step ahead of him.   
  
"I win." She said quietly, smiling at him. "You owe me dinner."   
  
"So I do.." he agreed, sliding into a booth across from her. "What'll you have?"


End file.
